3 months later

The young adventurer glazed side to side as they approached the display window of the store. Their wide hat and tall collar covered their face, a fact for which they’d been extremely thankful in recent months. Ever since they’d had that encounter with that witch, ever since they’d been forced to confront some…feelings regarding their identity, they’d not been able to stand their appearance, let alone the feeling of others seeing it. They’d gone from feeling apathetic about mirrors to loathsome about them, from wearing your usual fare of adventuring garb to long cloaks and concealing hats, and despite all this they still felt as if their skin crawled whenever someone looked them in the eye. And all of this because of some curse, some *spell*, had put them in a body that they were told should’ve been uncomfortable, but had never felt more right in their whole life. 

It was like their eyes were suddenly open, like they’d gone from being ignorant of the world to being existentially aware of every single thing that was wrong. Like an ant who’d never known beyond the anthill being suddenly aware of the existential scale of the universe. In a 5 minute battle, they’d been set on a course that they could not avoid any longer.

They’d heard the tales of this place, of course. Any adventurer who’d been around for more than a few years had heard of it. A mystery shop that could be anywhere, ran by a shapeshifting creature with so many rumours and descriptions to them that none were quite sure of their identity beyond their sense of style, their “generally benevolent but not to be trifled with” demeanour, and a single letter name; “D.” A store that carried items from across time, space, cultures, and supposedly worlds. A place of safety that would appear to you when you needed it most, that could provide help that none others could, at a price. A place not known for weapons, or offensive magicks, or any such things, but a place that provided nothing but aid to those who deserved it, and punished those who tried to use it for evil.

Of course, they weren’t seeking it for evil, rather just for help, but being an anxious person meant that their mind was running at a million miles an hour and coming up with all sorts of reasonings that seeking help was evil. They were all incorrect, of course, but anxiety will do that to a person. Either way, they knew that that couldn’t stop them. This was a quest they had to follow through on, that they had to at least try and see through to the end, and so they approached the door.

For a split second as they crossed the threshold, they felt like gravity switched off and then back on, like they went from walking to falling to standing in too little time to process the feeling it gave them, and so like most first timers they simply fell over. They took a minute to process what had happened to them, before promptly scrambling to their feet and taking stock of their situation.

The wooden shelves that surrounded them, the magical and homely light that filled the space yet had no obvious source, and the items scattered around the store in various manners of display told them with little doubt that they were in the right place.

Nobody could be seen behind the counter, but upon the counter of the store sat a small table-top bell like they’d seen in other stores many a time, accompanied by a small sign reading “Please ring for service” in block letters. Looking around to make sure they hadn’t just missed there being someone else in the store, they rang the bell.

“Hello!” A voice suddenly piped from behind the adventurer, who whips around the face the person behind them, nearly falling over in the process. Directly behind them stands a young woman wearing a broad brimmed and pointed hat, as well as a long robe that hung off her collar. She wore a white, buttoned blouse and a long dark skirt, as well as a smile on her face. Her hair was long, with a plethora of colour mixed in, vibrant and bright. “How can I help you today?”

A “Staff only” door cracked open behind the counter, causing the adventurer to whip around once again, stumbling far less the second time. Through the door came an androgynous figure wearing a wide brimmed black hat, much like the ones they’d seen some desert rangers wear, along with a long white cloak over some mottled green adventuring clothes. Upon their face, they wore a pair of glasses, which had a hagstone hinged off the side of one of the lenses like the adventurer had seen jewellers do with magnifying glasses.

“Victoria, you can’t just jump people like that! I understand that you’re excited to be- oh, hello!” They turned to the adventurer in front of them, their apology already written on their face. “I’m so sorry for my apprentices behaviour, they’ve only recently started learning and between that and their new form- oh I’m getting ahead of myself.” They muttered, cutting themselves off before taking a deep breath and trying again. “Hello, my name is Dee, welcome to my shop. What can I help you with?”

The adventurer stood dumbfounded and a bit bewildered for a second, before realising it was their turn to speak with an “Oh!” of realisation.

“I’m looking for something to, uh, well I got cursed some months back, and it changed me, and ever since I’ve been feeling like I want to go back to the way they made me look and I don’t know what to do-” They stopped as they lost their breath, their breathing suddenly rapid and overwhelming and overstimulation and oh gods they’d said it and-

“It’s going to be okay, you’ve-”

“You’re going to be alri-”

“-please breathe nice and slowly for me, that’s it, just breathe.”

Someone put the edge of a seat behind their knees, and they let themself sit as the feelings washed over them. They’d said it. They’d made it *real*. They’d uncorked the bottle and now it would never close again but they didn’t know that they even *wanted* to unsay it because it felt nice as much as it was terrifying to say it

“Hey Victoria?”

“Yeah Boss?”

“The potion i helped you make on your first day here, do you remember where the rest of the batch is?”

“I do, do you think this is-?”

“Yes, I very much do. Consider this your first opportunity to do for someone else what I was able to do for you.”

The adventurer heard the young lady walk off, her boots clicking against the polished wooden floorboards. Meanwhile, they realised that the shop owner, Dee, had knelt in front of them and was resting their hand on the arm of the chair.

“So, I know you may not have an answer at the moment from what you just told me, but do you have a name I can call you?”

The adventurer paused, their breath hitched, and they replied.

“Yes, actually, I think I do.”